using your logic above.

Problem with most Americans is they have never experienced another country and culture.
The poorest in our country would be the rich in most other poor countries.

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/eco_pop_bel_pov_lin-economy-population-below-poverty-line

Thanks for directly answering my question.

I was at an informal, volunteer gathering of local economic development experts (and they truly deserve that title, having devoted much of their lives to the topic, vocationally and/or avocationally) on Saturday morning and the group members remarked that although we all are affected by rising prices, and some of us are affected by declining, unless you are a retiree dependent on investment income or were laid off from your job, your situation isn’t as dire as the headlines might indicate.

At the same meeting, we got an update on the results of the Sarah Henson fund-raiser the night before. It was encouraging the hear that people were able to realistically analyze their own situations and find that they had enough to share with someone else in the community.

Thanks again,

Ross

Are you calling us whiners? Have you been talking to Phil Gramm recently?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/11/us/politics/11campaign.html

BTW there is a difference between fear mongering and reporting the truth.

Terrorism color scale: Fear Mongering

Reporting the stock market went down 900 pts: Telling the truth

I’ve heard recently from people that have secure positions in the state, county and schools complain about the economy—-when absolutely nothing in their paycheck will change, except that their paychecks will get larger next year. Sure, gas and food cost more for them this year, but they have guaranteed jobs. This is the kind of ‘fear mongering’ that the media can develop.

But, since we most likely will not be closing things down in the media, (except for talk radio if some folks have their way) we will continue to have everyone fretting about the economy.

I hope you are right. If Obama manages to pull this off I’ll be the first to acknowledge it.
Unfortunately the extreme left within the party won’t let him.

our best days are still ahead

—as we anticipate the Obama Administration!

Most families with a budget will do it if they can afford it.
WMT had a 12% sales increase in the last quarter.

Did anybody here really belief that we would never experience a down turn again? Nobody would be that foolish.

By all means and measures we are still a lot better off then the rest of the world.

America get off your pity pot our best days are still ahead.

In today’s Star Tribune, “A St. Paul-based think tank wants to expand the “buy local” mantra this holiday season to strengthen Minnesota’s economy”:

http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/34487384.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUF

“The just-released report ‘ “Made in MN 2008: Boosting Minnesota’s Economy in Tough Economic Times” -- states that if Minnesotans spent one-fourth of their holiday budgets on items made in Minnesota, more than $2 billion would trickle into the state’s economy, possibly causing small and local businesses to hire more employees.”

Recognition of the falsity of material wealth as the standard of success goes hand in hand with the abandonment of the false belief that public office and high political position are to be valued only by the standards of pride of place and personal profit.

I fear that what I call ‘sound bite’ media cause an unrealistic level of almost paranoia,( i.e., being worried about the Dakota snowstorm) and the whole key is, as always, to be critical thinkers. We need to sit tight, mitigate what damage we can, and figure out how to rebuild the results of the damage that can’t be mitigated.

But isn’t that always true? Whether its a 100year hailstorm, or an economic disaster?

I think his take on the economy is pretty accurate. It’s not all doom and gloom. People are spending money, they are buying books. They are just buying fewer from me than in the past. some retailers will close, others will survive. the challenge is to be one of the survivors.

I hadn’t read that speech, I was only aware of the “fear itself” quote. The speech relates well to our current economic conditions. The speech also relates to the LoGro Deep Economy thread:

“Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. The joy and moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits. These dark days will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves and to our fellow men.”

Here’s a link to the speech:

http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5057/

I understand that Obama is reading Lincoln now. I hope he adds FDR to his reading list as well.

Surprisingly, I can’t find a clip of it on You Tube, so a transcript will have to suffice:

Narrator: Even more modern building techniques are being used on an expanding new town site near Peterborough; here the Amazing Mystico and Janet can put up a block of flats by hypnosis in under a minute.

Architect: Well there is a considerable financial advantage in using the services of El Mystico. A block, like Mystico Point here, would normally cost in the region of one-and-a-half million pounds. This was put up for five pounds and thirty bob for Janet.

Narrator: But the obvious question is: are they safe?

Architect: Of course they’re safe. There’s absolutely no doubt about that. They are as strong, solid and as safe as any other building method in this country provided of course people believe in them.

Tenant: Yes, we received a note from the Council saying that if we ceased to believe in this building it would fall down.

Narrator: You don’t mind living in a figment of another man’s imagination?

Tenant: No, it’s much better than where we used to live.

Narrator: Where did you used to live?

Tenant: We had an eighteen-roomed villa overlooking Nice.

Narrator: Really, that sounds much better.

Tenant: Oh yes -- yes you’re right.

Cut to stock shot of block falling down in slow motion.

Tenant: No, no, no, of course not.

Cut to stock film again. The building rights itself.

Tenant: Phew, that was close.

For this piece, I’d like to explore the impact of the media on consumer confidence and economic conditions. Do you think the media’s stories on economic events have an impact on the economy?

That’s an interesting question. Some people are spending less because their income has fallen, their apparent investment wealth has dwindled, or they are out of work. But what about the rest of us?

Felicity and I have suffered no significant adverse impact on our wealth or income over the last two years. Our income has increased a fair bit, and our wealth is mostly in the form of debts. Still, we have cut back our spending a fair bit.

‘d like to think that our decisions have been made entirely for personal reasons, but they do seem to be remarkably timed to coincide with the general economic pessimism. We decided to cut back on restaurants because we now had time to cook more, and because it’s healthier. We decided not to buy a house when we moved to town because we didn’t find one we loved enough to settle in. However, perhaps in a more optimistic market we would’ve bought a short-term residence with a plan to move later.

Like so many others, in the past we spent a lot on credit cards, and ran up a balance. Now we’re paying it off. Most of that debt was medical bills, where spending money we didn’t yet have made good sense at the time of those decisions. Would we have made the same decisions in a more pessimistic time? I can’t be sure we would.

In short -- it’s hard to admit that our decisions are determined by what the media says, but their reports do create a general atmosphere of pessimism that can influence decisions that could otherwise go either way. And shopping is often done for reasons other than necessity.

Perhaps we need a Cheerleader-In-Chief again to get us out of this morass:

“I encourage you all to go shopping more.”

“When they struck, they wanted to create an atmosphere of fear. And one of the great goals of this nation’s war is to restore public confidence in the airline industry. It’s to tell the traveling public: Get on board. Do your business around the country. Fly and enjoy America’s great destination spots. Get down to Disney World in Florida. Take your families and enjoy life, the way we want it to be enjoyed.”

And then it will all be better.

Panic should NOT prevail, personal financial assessments/capacities should be made, and we should support our local businesses… and keep our old (paid for) cars as long as possible!

Although Myles focused primarily on downtown businesses, many of the local “experts” he consulted took a larger view, putting downtown in the context of Northfield and Northfield in the context of the national and/or global economy. I think it’s a useful perspective.

Personally, I think that the current financial situation, both real or perceived, probably impacts car dealers, home furnishers, or appliance retailers out on the highway much the same way as gift sellers, burger vendors, and craft suppliers downtown.

My question, more precisely stated, is regardless of location and product, how much are businesses affected by actual reduction in consumer wealth and how much can be attributed to media sensationalism?

Thanks much,

Ross

But I certainly do think that most people will curtail their discretionary spending to some degree, maybe to a large degree. And this is where it especially hurts our DT, when we have lost businesses that sell essential clothing, shoes, etc., and have a mix of stores which depend on more discretionary spending.
This is why the National Trust, Institute for Self Reliance , and other organizations that encourage strong DTs in small towns, say a more balanced mix of essentials and discretionary shopping must be maintained to be an economically strong downtown.
And there’s where the large scale general merchandisers, and franchises on the highway DO hurt the DT, as much as people don’t want to say so. And it is hard to evaluate that when some franchise owners on the highway are also local residents who care very much about the economic health of Northfield.

It’s especially important now, of all times, to support the downtown over this next year of economic strife, if you want to keep it functioning. Just take a little time and look in the downtown for gifts this holiday season; You’ll find so many unique and original items.
Again, Ross, the media has a lot of influence on how people feel … but I have to believe if so many people have chose to live in NF, for the quality of Life which it offers, that IF they take the time to really think about it, they will want that environment to continue …and it can’t without the Downtown.